People

BACKGROUND

Anneke Sools is Assistant Professor at the department of Psychology, Health and Technology and member of the research institute IGS (Innovation and Governance Studies). She is also Program Director of the Storylab (Dutch expert centre in the area of narrative psychology, health, and technology connected to the University of Twente). For more information see:

Sools received her PhD at the University for Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, based on a dissertation about narrative research methodology in the context of health promotion. She received a MA Degree in Psychology of Culture and Religion from the University of Nijmegen. For some years she has been a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Narrative Research (University of East London) and a member of the science committee of the international conference Narrative Matters. In 2010 she founded the Network for Narrative Research Netherlands together with Floor Basten from Campus Orléon.

CURRENT RESEARCH

Building resilience by imagining the future using stories

Resilience is a relational concept, which concerns not only maintenance of well-being in the face of adversity, but extends to increased well-being and flourishing. From a social-ecological perspective, resilience is considered to be a context-specific process that includes control over the meaning of what and who is perceived as resilient. A narrative approach is particularly suited to address the meaning-making aspects of resilience, because stories offer the interpretive and evaluative context through which people construct their identities and actions. Future stories are less researched in relation to resilience, however these stories seem particularly apt to build resilience, because future stories function as meaning making devices which guide and motivate current thought and action. The potential of future stories to build resilience is studied in relation to various future treats, such as unemployment, acceleration of subjective time as part of high-tech developments, and mental health.

Sools, A., & Schuhmann, C. (2014). Theorizing the narrative dimension of psychotherapy and counseling: A big and small story approach. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. doi: 10.1007/s10879-014-9260-5 (online first January 14, 2014).

Heerings, M., Egmond, S. van, & Sools, A. (2014). What TA can learn from patient narratives. Using narrative methodology to assess the role of patients in Dutch hospitals. In Technology Assessment and Policy Areas of Great Transitions.